OBJECTIVE: This review summarizes the approaches to pediatric sialorrhea management from least-to-most invasive: non-pharmacological management, anticholinergic medications, botulinum neurotoxin, non-invasive surgery, and invasive surgical intervention.
METHODS: An electronic literature review identified English-language articles on sialorrhea management in pediatric patients. Publications between 1982 and 2022 were used, with a focus on articles published from 2012 to 2022. Additional augmentation of pharmacologic information was obtained from the latest editions of medical textbooks supplemented with official package inserts of investigated medications.
CONCLUSIONS: Sialorrhea is abnormal in patients greater than four years of age. Severe cases warrant intervention to improve patient quality of life and reduce caregiver burden. Management starts with conservative approaches. Viable candidates begin with non-pharmacological management options. Anticholinergic medications can decrease saliva production, but adverse side effects may outweigh benefits. Botulinum neurotoxin injection of the salivary glands decreases salivary flow rate; however, relief is transient and thus multiple treatments are required. Non-invasive sclerotherapy is an emerging treatment option showing promising results for sialorrhea. In contrast, surgical intervention is reserved as a last-resort treatment for patients with severe symptoms, due to its higher risk for adverse consequences.
CONCLUSIONS: Physicians should be familiar with the different pediatric sialorrhea management options, including advantages and disadvantages, to adequately facilitate shared decision making with caretakers of pediatric patients who require treatment.

BACKGROUND: Juvenile recurrent parotitis is a rare disease characterized by repeated episodes of inflammation affecting, unilaterally or bilaterally, the parotid glands during childhood.
METHODS: Retrospective study including patients diagnosed with juvenile recurrent parotitis between January 2010 and September 2020 at a tertiary level hospital, with the aim of evaluating the results of medical treatment and sialendoscopy.
RESULTS: A total of 48 patients met the inclusion criteria and had a mean follow-up of 4 years (SD = 3; Min: 2/Max: 12). Regarding treatment, 34 (70.8%) patients received conservative treatment and had a mean of 5 episodes (SD = 3; Min: 2/Max: 13) until symptom resolution. Meanwhile, 14 (29.2%) patients underwent sialendoscopy, of which two (12%) required reintervention. In 100% (14) of the patients treated with sialendoscopy, the findings were consistent with JRP and, after sialendoscopy, a statistically significant reduction in episodes was observed, with a mean of 1 post-intervention episode (SD = 1.5; Min:0/Max: 6) (P < .001).
CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained in this study suggest that sialendoscopy is a useful tool in the treatment of juvenile recurrent parotitis. However, new studies comparing the results of sialendoscopy with other therapeutic alternatives are necessary.

OBJECTIVE: Antibiotics have been prescribed routinely in sialendoscopy procedures to reduce the risk of postoperative infection, despite the limited evidence supporting this practice. Being necessary to assess the need for antibiotics in Sialendoscopy, aiming to provide evidence-based guidance to clinicians regarding antibiotic administration in this procedure.
METHODS: A prospective, randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial to evaluate the of prophylactic antibiotics in Sialendoscopy was designed.
RESULTS: A total of 80 patients were included in this study, including 57 females (71.8%) and 23 males (28.8%). In terms of prophylaxis, 36 patients (45%) received prophylactic treatment, and 44 patients (55%) did not. The occurrence of infectious events was observed in 2 patients (5.6%) with prophylaxis and 4 patients (9.1%) without prophylaxis. However, this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.556).
CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, our prospective, randomized clinical trial aimed to address the debate regarding the use of prophylactic antibiotics in sialendoscopy. Our study\'s findings suggest that the routine use antibiotics may not be necessary to prevent postoperative infections in sialendoscopy procedures. These results have important implications for clinical practice, potentially reducing the unnecessary use of antibiotics and addressing concerns related to antibiotic resistance and adverse drug reactions.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess how well ChatGPT, an AI-powered chatbot, performed in helping to manage pediatric sialadenitis and identify when sialendoscopy was necessary.
METHODS: 49 clinical cases of pediatric sialadenitis were retrospectively reviewed. ChatGPT was given patient data, and it offered differential diagnoses, proposed further tests, and suggested treatments. The decisions made by the treating otolaryngologists were contrasted with the answers provided by ChatGPT. Analysis was done on ChatGPT response consistency and interrater reliability.
RESULTS: ChatGPT showed 78.57% accuracy in primary diagnosis, and 17.35% of cases were considered likely. On the other hand, otolaryngologists recommended fewer further examinations than ChatGPT (111 vs. 60, p < 0.001). For additional exams, poor agreement was found between ChatGPT and otolaryngologists. Only 28.57% of cases received a pertinent and essential treatment plan via ChatGPT, indicating that the platform\'s treatment recommendations were frequently lacking. For treatment ratings, judges\' interrater reliability was greatest (Kendall\'s tau = 0.824, p < 0.001). For the most part, ChatGPT\'s response constancy was high.
CONCLUSIONS: Although ChatGPT has the potential to correctly diagnose pediatric sialadenitis, there are a number of noteworthy limitations with regard to its ability to suggest further testing and treatment regimens. Before widespread clinical use, more research and confirmation are required. To guarantee that chatbots are utilized properly and effectively to supplement human expertise rather than to replace it, a critical viewpoint is required.

BACKGROUND: Parotid gland agenesis is a rare, congenital, usually asymptomatic disorder. Until now, only 24 cases with unilateral, incidentally found, parotid gland agenesis have been described. Here, we present the first reported case of an ipsilateral preauricular neoplasm in a patient with unilateral parotid gland agenesis. During surgery, the position of the greater auricular- and facial nerves was documented. Furthermore, we performed the first sialendoscopy for this rare disorder to assess the number of duct branches, which might be indicative of the abundance of parotid tissue. Moreover, we looked for sialendoscopic characteristic features that could aid in identifying these patients in the ambulatory setting.
METHODS: A 50-year-old Greek man presented with a painless, slowly enlarging mass in the right parotid space. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a complete absence of the right parotid gland without accessory parotid tissue. The right parotid gland was replaced by fatty tissue and the radiologist suggested a benign parotid tumor. Fine needle aspiration was indicative of a reactive lymph node. Sialendoscopy revealed only two branches within the right parotid duct. Surgical resection was performed through a conventional lateral parotidectomy. This revealed typical anatomic position of the greater auricular- and facial nerves despite the parotid tissue agenesis. Histopathology revealed a small lymphocytic lymphoma.
CONCLUSIONS: Surgeons should feel confident to resect tumors of the parotid space in patients with parotid gland agenesis. Reduced branching observed during sialendoscopy might indicate parotid gland agenesis. Physicians should be even more cautious than usual with the watch and wait strategy in patients with tumors of parotid gland agenesis, since the probability of a tumor being a benign salivary gland tumor might be lower than usual.

暂无摘要。

OBJECTIVE: To compare rates of sialadenectomy in a veteran population before and after introduction of sialendoscopy.
METHODS: All Veterans Affair (VA) Northern California Healthcare System (NCHS) encounters from 2006 to 2021 for benign obstructive salivary etiologies were identified using International Classification of Disease 9/10 codes. This cohort was then cross referenced with Current Procedural Terminology codes to identify patients who underwent a procedure for their salivary pathologies. The rates of sialadenectomy and minimally invasive procedures were measured before and after sialendoscopy was introduced to the VA NCHCS in 2016. Data was obtained via chart review and demographic information, diagnosis, and procedure type were extracted. Rates of sialadenectomy, minimally invasive procedures, and other patient and procedural characteristics were compared between the Pre-Sialendoscopy Era (PSE) and Sialendoscopy Era (SE). Statistical analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel (Microsoft, version 16.66).
RESULTS: An increasing number of patients per year sought care for benign obstructive salivary pathology in the SE when compared to the PSE cohort and a higher rate of female patients were treated in the SE cohort. A simultaneous reduction in sialadenectomy rates and increase in minimally invasive procedure rates was observed in the SE. Sialendoscopy represented most of the increase in minimally invasive techniques, but there was a slight increase in other procedure types. Submandibular gland obstructive pathologies required the most procedures and resulted in the most gland excisions.
CONCLUSIONS: This retrospective review strongly suggests introducing sialendoscopy reduced the incidence of sialadenectomy for benign non-tumor obstructive pathology in this VA NCHS population. Further prospective studies are needed to evaluate this in a more generalized setting.

Juvenile recurrent parotitis (JRP) is characterised by recurrent episodes of painful parotid swelling in children. JRP is the second most common cause of parotitis in childhood, behind only paramyxovirus. The prevention of recurrent attacks represents the most dramatic and serious aspect of this pathology. Since 2004, different authors have evaluated sialendoscopy for the diagnostic and therapeutic management of JRP. In this paper, we share our clinical experience of the use of sialendoscopy for the treatment of JRP. We document with video sialendoscopy the glandular pathology in four children with a mean age of 11.5 years, who had suffered from 3-6 episodes/year of inflammation prior to treatment. The use of sialendoscopy in our patients was effective in preventing recurrences. For the first time, the videosialendoscopy of a series of children diagnosed with JRP is documented in the literature.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the sialendoscopy findings associated with positive findings on minor salivary gland biopsy.
METHODS: Single-center retrospective study.
METHODS: Patients ≥18 years old who underwent sialendoscopy from 2016 to 2022 and were evaluated for SS via labial minor salivary gland biopsy. Biopsy positive and negative patients were compared on the primary outcome measure of sialendoscopy findings. Data were abstracted from the sialendoscopy operative notes and included involved gland, location of ductal pathology, and the presence of scarring, stenosis, mucus plugs, webs, and dilations. Additional characteristics included demographics, presenting symptoms, caffeine or tobacco, use of drying medications, and need for additional treatments.
RESULTS: The final cohorts included 22 biopsy positive and 21 biopsy negative patients with a total of 42 glands in the biopsy positive and 37 glands in the biopsy negative groups. Biopsy positive patients were found to require dilation at the hilum and distal duct at significantly higher rates than biopsy negative patients (p < 0.0001). However, there was no statistical difference in scarring, stenosis severity, mucus, webs, or dilations between each group.
CONCLUSIONS: The outcomes of this study suggest that there are no distinct sialendoscopy findings associated with biopsy positive patients. The presence of significant distal stenosis on sialendoscopy may be associated with positive minor salivary biopsy. Other endoscopic parameters are likely more consistent with non-specific chronic sialadenitis.
METHODS: 3 Laryngoscope, 134:1183-1189, 2024.

La recidiva della patologia ostruttiva salivare dopo scialoendoscopia. Una revisione narrativa della letteratura.
Negli ultimi 20 anni, la scialoendoscopia interventistica è diventata la terapia di scelta dei disordini ostruttivi salivari, contribuendo ad una riduzione significativa dei pazienti sottoposti a scialoadenectomia. Il tasso di successo della scialoendoscopia interventistica è di circa il 90% del totale dei pazienti trattati, come riportato in letteratura. Il tasso di recidiva è invece di circa il 10% dei casi, e il paziente dev’essere informato della possibilità di essere sottoposto ad ulteriori terapie. Un iter clinico e radiologico adeguato, rappresentato dall’ecografia, dalla TC Cone Beam 3D, dalla scialorisonanza magnetica, è indispensabile per ridurre il rischio di insuccesso e quindi di recidiva della patologia ostruttiva salivare; inoltre, in quest’ultimo caso, il chirurgo dovrebbe essere sufficientemente esperto per gestire ulteriori procedure endoscopiche e/o chirurgiche, come ad esempio l’approccio transorale/transfacciale scialoendoscopico-assistito, o procedure imaging guidate in caso di condizioni anatomiche difficoltose. La tossina botulinica e la scialoadenectomia tradizionale dovrebbero essere considerate come possibili opzioni di salvataggio in caso di fallimento di tutte le terapie conservative.
Over the last 20 years, interventional sialendoscopy has become the therapy of choice for the management of obstructive salivary disorders, favouring a significant reduction in the number of patients undergoing traditional sialadenectomy. The overall success rate of sialendoscopy is around 90% as reported by the largest case series published; recurrence is expected in about 10% of cases, and the patient should be informed about the possibility to undergo further conservative procedures to improve symptoms. Adequate pre-operative assessment, based on ultrasonography, cone beam 3D CT and MR-sialography, is mandatory to reduce the risk of unsuccessful procedures and, therefore, recurrence of obstructive sialadenitis; moreover, in case of recurrence, the surgeon should be experienced enough to manage these cases and be able to perform additional interventions, such as transoral/transfacial sialendoscopy-assisted procedures and imaging-assisted procedures in case of difficult anatomical situations. Botulinum toxin injection and traditional sialadenectomy would be considered as possible salvage treatments in case of failure of all conservative approaches.